Hidden in the Dark
by Belles7
Summary: The Teiko Magic Academy produces over hundreds of bounty hunters. Amongst their brilliant record, the generation of five prodigies was known as the Generation of Miracles. However, there was a strange rumor going around the Magic World: the phantom sixth man. A man no one had ever seen. AkaKuro. Gender bender Kuro. Image info on my profile!
1. Chapter 1

**Hidden in the Dark**

* * *

_Chapter 1: Kuro_

* * *

The Teiko Magic Academy produces over hundreds of bounty hunters.

Amongst their brilliant record, the generation of five prodigies was known as the Generation of Miracles.

However, there was a strange rumor going around the Magic World:

the phantom sixth man.

A man no one had ever seen.

* * *

"Tch!" Aomine muttered, kicking the back of a chair in front of him. He slumped in his chair, dropping his feet on top of the table as he linked his hands behind his neck. "What the hell, man! This '_Kuro'_ person keeps stealing our jobs! We need to do something about this!"

Kise nodded, holding the latest newspaper in his hands, and commented, "Aominecchi, you finally have something intelligent to say. Oh and take your feet off the table. If Akashicchi sees you doing that, you'll get a good stab in the eye with his scissors."

"Ha! Like I care! I could save myself from him anytime!" Aomine waved a fist in the air, smirking at the blonde. Kise stuck his face out from the paper and stuck his tongue at the tan friend. Momoi sauntered into the private room with a bright face. "Good morning everyone~!"

"Ohayou, Sa-chin," greeted Murasakibara, who tossed some donuts into his mouth. Midorima watched in disdain as crumbs littered the giant's school uniform. He sighed quietly, touched his glasses, and looked away. Murasakibara could be so disgusting at times and ill mannered.

Momoi looked around the room, their usual meeting spot before school started, and cocked her head. "Where's Akashi-kun?"

"Who cares?" Aomine replied, banging a fist on the table. He leaned forward, no longer slumping, and added, "I want my jobs back!"

"Ah~!" Murasakibara suddenly exclaimed with a snap of his fingers. He turned to look at Aomine and nodded. "Mine-chin's right! We need to get our jobs back because I need money to buy more food!"

Kise quirked a brow. "_You_ need more food?"

The giant nodded, completely serious.

Aomine waved half-heartedly at the two friends and stated, "That's not important. I need to get the latest volume of my magazines!" Fire lit up in his eyes and he clenched his fists tightly as he thought about that model dressed in a skimpy bikini, her boobs wet and shiny from the ocean scenery. Before he could grin to himself and turn super goofy, Momoi landed a fist on his head.

"OW, Satsuki!" shouted Aomine. "That freaking hurts!"

She said with her eyes closed and a shaking head, "Dai-chan! You're so disgusting!" And she smacked him on the head once more, earning a howl of pain from the childhood friend of hers.

"Talk about disgusting," Midorima muttered, eyeing the chewing Murasakibara. The purple-haired teen cocked his head, finally hearing Midorima's voice. "Mido-chin? Is something wrong?"

Midorima's eye twitched. _Did he not hear me?_ "Don't chew with your mouth open! It's gross."

Murasakibara grinned and leaned closer to Midorima, opening his mouth wider as he attempted to gross out the horoscope lover. Midorima gripped his lucky item, a polished axe. "I'm going to kill you."

The giant laughed, still chewing with his mouth open.

"Shintaro, put that axe down. Atsushi, stop chewing with your mouth open. Daiki, be quiet. Momoi, take a seat," said an authorative voice. Everyone turned to see Akashi Seijuro close the door and walk to his usual seat, the front seat.

"Akashicchi! What about me~?" Kise cried out, waterfall tears streaming down his pretty-boy face. Akashi merely turned his head to look at Kise and carried on as if Kise had never said anything. Aomine snickered in delight and Midorima placed the small but real axe underneath his chair, still wary of Murasakibara.

Kise quickly recovered from the emotional blow and said, "Anyways, have you heard of the news, Akashicchi?"

"Hm?" Akashi replied, opening his laptop. It was a part of his routine. School started at 9 a.m. So every morning at 8:30, he'd come here, read the news on his laptop, talk a bit with his teammates, and have some breakfast. "What do you mean?"

Kise spread his hands apart, swiping them in the air with a grin. "Kuro strikes again!"

"Huh?" Aomine said in disbelief. "What kind of a lame-ass name is that?"

Kise narrowed his eyes at him, scowling in irritation. "It's the title of the article I just read, baka!"

"Let me see it." Aomine grabbed the paper from Kise's hands. "Tch. That's a stupid title."

Momoi nodded. "It sounds like something you'd hear from a comic book."

"And what was it about, Kise?" Akashi prodded, trying to keep them on task. Kise turned to look back at the red-head, his face glowing like a happy child who had been waiting to be called on by his teacher. "Well, apparently, Kuro's killed one of the top drug lords in the Shutoku District."

"Is that so?" Akashi asked, his hetero-colored eyes scanning his laptop. Kise nodded. Akashi looked at Midorima. "That's your native district, Shintaro. Do you know of this drug lord?"

"Name?" Midorima inquired. Akashi looked at Kise and Kise said, "Kazuya Hara."

Midorima narrowed his eyes at the sound of the familiar name. "He is-_was_- one of the top drug lords reigning in the underworld over there. I've never faced him directly, but when I still lived in Shutoku, he was the cause for multiple deaths of innocent civilians."

"A total brute and tyrant?" Aomine asked, interested in the dead man. "Did he use physical force?"

Midorima shook his head. "No. Physical force was rare. Tyrant, yes, he was. He liked to keep his powers secretive. There were rumors about his eyes being a source of his power, but I have no idea if that's valid."

"Eyes?" Momoi repeated. She looked at Akashi. "Perhaps his power was similar to Akashi-kun's?"

Midorima shrugged. "All I know is that he liked to prey on the minds of his victims."

"Interesting," Akashi stated. "How unfortunate that this man's death fell into the hands of someone else. I would have loved to observe his powers."

"Oi, it's not just only you, Akashi!" Aomine remarked. "I've been itching for a good fight, too."

"I just want a mission. Staying at school is boring," Kise added. "We get to do whatever we want when we go on missions; no one watches us."

"I'm sure we would have got that mission," Momoi murmured, putting a finger on her chin. "I went to the Missions Office the other day to check if they had anything for us, but the receptionist said that there were no new missions yet. She knows our contact info, too."

"Hmph! It's obvious they didn't see us fit for the job!" Kise remarked.

"We are still high school students, Kise. Until we graduate from Teiko, we won't be seen as bounty hunters even though we already are," Midorima reminded.

Kise pouted, muttering, "Even the adults treat us as if we aren't bounty hunters."

"Nonetheless, I don't find that surprising," Akashi stated. Everyone turned to look at him. He closed his laptop, his eyes gleaming with confidence, and said, "We'll just have to keep adding to our countless victories and make them realize that fact then."

"Tch! We're the best group there is! The Generation of Miracles!" Aomine remarked. "We even beat Seirin this year like the previous year."

"Speaking of Seirin," Momoi said. "I bumped into their manager the other day and they just got a rank A mission."

"HAH?" Kise and Aomine shouted simultaneously. Momoi nodded, looking ashamed. "That B-cup got them a mission, an A rank one too! I'm so frustrated."

"Aida Riko?" Akashi said casually. Momoi nodded. Akashi twirled a red scissor around his finger and set his chin on the palm of his left hand, leaning a bit to his left side. "She's a third year at Seirin Magic High in the Seirin District. Manager of Seirin's top bounty hunters. Her father was a trainer at the National Bounty Hunter Association. She's seventeen and her specialty resides within her instincts, almost like you Momoi."

Momoi nodded, looking more serious than she usually was. "She's the first person to be able to keep up with my skills, Akashi-kun."

"I can tell." Akashi placed his scissor on the table. "Keep tabs on Seirin. They may be an obstacle to us in the near future."

Aomine grinned. "The more the better! The one who can beat me is me. I'd love to see them beat me."

Midorima touched the frame of his glasses. "Hn. Don't get so cocky now, Aomine."

"Yeah, Aominecchi. I'm gonna kick your butt real good one day," Kise added, smirking as he ran a hand through his blonde hair.

Momoi sighed, putting her hands between Kise and Aomine who both growled at each other. "Let's not destroy ourselves first. I'm sure there are plenty of other bounty hunters wanting us to fight each other from within so that they can take our spot."

"As if they could!" Aomine and Kise yelled together, grinning at each other wildly. "No one can beat us."

Momoi leaned back in her chair and bit on her thumb nail, looking grim. Kise's grin faded slowly as he hesitantly said, "Right?"

"Baka! What's with that look!" Aomine exclaimed, smacking Kise's head. He narrowed his eyes at Momoi. "And you, Satsuki, don't go around hurting his morale!"

Akashi held up a hand, cutting off Aomine who clamped his mouth shut unwillingly. "Did you find anything on this so-called Kuro person?"

"You had her research the person?" Aomine demanded. "Why? This person is a small fry compared to us!"

Momoi shook her head, completely ignoring Aomine's remark. "I tried to find some things about this person, but I couldn't."

"You couldn't even _trace_ him?" Midorima asked, bewildered. Momoi Satsuki was a tracer and an analyst. She was best at collecting and gathering data, making predictions from those data and tracing people. And by tracing, he meant tracing people's magic aura. Everyone had their own distinct magic auras, that's why tracers existed.

"Maybe this Kuro person doesn't use magic to fight?" Murasakibara suggested.

"I highly doubt that. Kazuya Hara is not to be taken lightly, Murasakibara. This person needed magic to kill Kazuya. This person must be very advanced, good enough to hide their aura," Midorima stated.

"Hmm, really~?" Murasakibara muttered. "I'd like to see this person with my eyes. Kuro sounds yummy."

"Uh. Yumy?" Kise repeated, looking confused and horrified. "You don't happen to be a cannibal, do you?"

Murasakibara smiled and shook his head. "Nope."

"This Kuro person sounds strong, that's what!" Aomine shouted, getting fired up. "I want to fight that guy!"

Momoi pressed her lips into a thin line, thinking hard. "I don't know if this person's strong, but I can assume that Kuro's intelligent for sure."

Akashi nodded. "You don't have to be physically strong to kill. If you have strategy and intel, you can destroy someone to the point where their physically dead or just an empty shell."

...

Meanwhile, Kuro stood in front of the sink with her hands underneath the faucet. Water rushed over her fresh wounds as she stood in the dark bathroom. Kuro touched her hands, seeing that her wounds had healed. "Perfect. All I need to do is head back home."

...

"Generation of Miracles, tch!" Kagami scoffed. "What's so good about them?"

Riko put a hand on her hips. "Their bodies are sculpted way too good to be real. Their numbers go off the charts." She remembered when she first saw Aomine's body. She was a second year and he was only a first year. The minute she saw his biceps flex, her mental calculator blew up. Riko shook her head, trying to get rid of the thought.

"So what?" Kagami said cooly.

"So what? SO WHAT!" Riko shouted, breaking her cool and calm facade. "I'm gonna whip you in shape so you can beat them, BAKAGAMI!"

Kagami sweatdropped. "I don't know if you're gonna do legal things to help me improve, coach."

"Shut up, bakagami!" RIko retorted, huffing. "I'm gonna rub our victory in that boobalicious girl's face. Hehehe...Mwuahhahahaha!" Riko hugged herself as her body shook with excitement over the image of a crying Momoi, begging for forgiveness while on her knees. _I'll show you that I'm not just any ordinary B-cup girl!_

Kagami gulped as his coach laughed maniacally, throwing her hands into the air as she grasped at nothing. Kiyoshi wrapped his arm around Kagami and smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, Kagami. She's just excited. You're our trump card, especially since you're new to Seirin."

"Yeah." Hyuga stated, throwing a ball into the hoop. "No one's heard of you before so you'll be under the radar for now-that is, until we show you off to the bounty hunter world!" Hyuga's laughs thundered the gym.

Kagami stuttered, "T-taichou, I'm kind of worried now." He sighed. _They seem mentally unstable to me._

"OI, Hyuga! Why the hell are you playing basketball! Get your ass on that bench over there! Work on those biceps! They're pathetic!" Riko yelled. "And you, Kiyoshi, get on that treadmill! Work those legs out! Lately, you've been dragging the group down because you're too slow!"

She turned to Kagami and the other newbies, smiling sweetly. "You newbies are comin' with me. I'm gonna really see what you're made of."

Izuki shook his head, muttering, "I remember when we had to do the ritual in order to be initiated."

Hyuga laughed. "Yep. Heights and the fear of potentially being nude."

"I think she wanted to make this year harder," Kiyoshi added. "She contacted some of the reporters from the local news stations earlier today."

"WAIT. WHAT?" Hyuga shouted. "That's too extreme! As their captain and a fellow man, I must go save their pride and boost my heroic image!"

Hyuga shot out of the gym and up to the roof. Kiyoshi turned to look at Izuki, saying, "Don't we have an A-rank mission soon?"

Izuki's eyes sparkled. _Now's my chance! _"Did you forget or were you not _here _to _hear_ it?"

Kiyoshi smiled. "I'll just be going back to the treadmill now."

Izuki cocked his head, wondering aloud, "I thought it was pretty good."

* * *

A/N: Hi guys. I've had this plot in my head for this entire month now and I finally got the chance to type much less touch my laptop. Soooo...what do ya think? Review and, of course, thanks for reading. I love you guys!


	2. Chapter 2

**Hidden in the Dark**

* * *

_Chapter 2: Ogiwara Shigehiro_

* * *

The Teiko Magic Academy produces over hundreds of bounty hunters.

Amongst their brilliant record, the generation of five prodigies was known as the Generation of Miracles.

However, there was a strange rumor going around the Magic World:

the phantom sixth man.

A man no one had ever seen.

* * *

_... several days later, after school..._

"M-m-mi-midorima-kun!" a girl called out. She had long brown hair, large green eyes, and was about five feet tall. She stared at the ground, her hair hiding her face. Thrusting a love note to the green-haired miracle, she said, "Please take this!"

Midorima sighed. "This is ridiculous." _Oha Asa is correct as usual. This is a troublesome encounter._

"I-I'm sorry?" the girl said with confusion.

"I don't love you," Midorima bluntly said. "In fact, I don't even know you."

Kise was standing behind a vending machine, watching the heart-breaking scene unfold. The brunette took a step back, watery green eyes formed, tears streamed down her heart-shaped face, and she clutched the love note tighter in her hands. Midorima shook his head, looked away, and turned to leave. The girl reached out to grab his arm, failing to grab him and make him stay. Midorima turned back around to say something and then, the girl ran away. Voila!

When Midorima walked past Kise, he turned to look at the blonde male and asked, "Don't you have better things to do rather than stalking me, Kise?"

Kise smirked, bringing a fist to his chest smugly. "Of course, I have better things to be doing, you tsundere!"

"I am not!"

"Yes. You. Are. Tsun-de-re." Kise poked his fellow miracle's chest. "Tsund-OOOWWW!"

"I dare you to say that again. I'll break your finger next time, Kise." Midorima continued to walk away. Kise chased after the fuming teen and grinned, saying, "Akashicchi told me to get you. We have a meeting to attend with the headmaster." He ran ahead of Midorima and yelled, "TSUNDERE! MIDORIMA SHINTARO IS A TSUNDERE!"

And from that point on, Kise ran for his life. Thankfully, Midorima's lucky item wasn't an axe today. It was a frog.

...

Shirogane Kozo stood in front of the large window behind his desk. He gazed out the window, taking in the lavish scenery of his school. Teiko Magic Academy, the most prestigious magic high school there was, and what was even better was the Generation of Miracles. They were a huge bonus to the school; many sponsors came willingly to fund the academy. Teiko had a strong and magnificent reputation now. This was the school he created. Teiko was his masterpiece.

Hearing several knocks on his door, he stated, "Come on in." His hand lightly grazed the dark blue curtains as he waited for the door to shut. With his back to the group of miracles, he said, "Good afternoon everyone." He turned to look at the second years and gave them a small smile. "Please take a seat."

Shirogane settled down in his leather seat and snapped his fingers. A dark yellow color, the signature color for his magic aura, engulfed the office. His aura soon faded, successfully sealing the room. "I just created a sound proof barrier. No one will be able to enter or exit until the meeting is adjourned."

"It must be really important, whatever you have to say to us," Aomine commented, giving a low whistle. He had seen the headmaster's magic aura a few times. He slumped in his chair, getting comfy, and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his pants.

Shirogane nodded. "I have a new mission to assign."

"Oooh~" cooed Murasakibara. "What is it?"

The headmaster pulled out a folder from his desk. "It's an A-rank mission. The NBHA (National Bounty Hunter Association) called me last night, specifically requesting for the Generation of Miracles to handle this case."

"Coach~!" Kise cried out, running in a meadow of flowers towards the headmaster. Happy tears brimmed in his golden eyes. "You have no idea how happy I am!"

"Sit down, Kise," Akashi ordered. The blonde instantly sat down, snapping out of his daze.

Shirogane chuckled. "It's good to see that you're full of energy, Kise-kun. Back to what I was saying though, the mission is going to be difficult. It is a two part mission, meaning that you need to complete part 1 in order to start on part 2. You are to find a man named Ogiwara Shigehiro and bring him back to the association's headquarter."

"Why the association's headquarter?" Midorima asked. "Isn't this person a criminal?"

Shirogane shook his head. "No, he isn't. This is an extremely confidential case. I'm sure you all know the consequences of not keeping missions private. I do not know everything about this case, but from what I have been told, this case corresponds to the death of the Kuroko family."

"Kuroko?" Kise repeated. "Aren't they a super old clan?"

Midorima retorted, "Of course, they are, stupid." Kise frowned at the name-calling. Aomine wore a confused expression. What were they talking about?

"Would you care to explain, Akashi?" Shirogane asked. He had a feeling this could take a while.

Akashi replied, "I see nothing wrong with your request, Shirogane-san. Listen well, Kise and Aomine. The Kuroko family were the last members of the ancient Kuroko Clan; the Kuroko Clan was one of the top magical clans centuries ago. However, they were soon hunted down by the other powerful clans; the clan quickly dispersed with members traveling to different locations. Nonetheless, they were still hunted down and successfully killed. Of course, some of the members survived and mingled with other people through marriage. Some didn't mingle, trying to keep the Kuroko blood pure."

"And?" Aomine prodded.

Akashi continued, "Six years ago, the last three members of the Kuroko family died in a fire. They descended from the 'pure blood' side of the clan. Investigators couldn't determine whether the incident was a freak accident or whether someone had targeted the family. After two years of working on the case, authorities eventually closed the case, reasoning that there was no point in continuing to look for the suspect-that's _if_ there even was one."

"And why have I never heard of these people?" Aomine asked.

"They are in the textbook, Dai-chan," Momoi muttered, feeling embarrassed for her dear friend. "You wouldn't know because you don't pay attention in class."

"Does the association still believe they're alive?" Midorima asked. "After all, it's been _six _years since their deaths and there have been no signs of any survivor."

Shirogane shrugged. "It's mixed feelings; they could be dead or alive. However, there have been rumors going around lately. The Kuroko family's only child may have survived. I'm not completely sold on that idea though. There's no proof the kid's alive."

"Was it a boy or a girl?" Murasakibara asked.

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" Aomine said, bewildered. "Aren't there records of their existence? You know, like when you're born? The doctor records your birth date, gender and all those other stuff."

Shirogane shook his head. "Aomine-kun, do remember that the Kuroko family came from an ancient clan. They did keep some of their predecessor's traditions. When a woman gives birth, she has to labor at home. And then, there was also the fact that the Kuroko family became even more secretive, keeping to themselves even more."

"Shirogane-san, are you saying that they tried to hide the existence of their child?" Momoi questioned.

Shirogane nodded. "If it wasn't for the president's friendship with the Kuroko family, we would have never known they had a child."

Akashi narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean the _president_ was friends with them?"

"Your father didn't tell you about his relationship with this family?" Shirogane asked. Much to his dismay, Akashi shook his head. He hated being kept in the dark, especially by his own father. Shirogane nodded to himself. "Well, then again, no one really knew about his friendship with the family until the cased was closed four years ago. I suppose it was only his wife- your mother- and him who knew. It would have caused some trouble if people had known."

Seeing the troubled look in Akashi's eyes, Shirogane grabbed the picture of Ogiwara Shigehiro. "We are digressing; back to the real situation, everyone. This is the latest picture of Ogiwara Shigehiro. From what I have been told, Ogiwara should be around your age. He was a friend of the Kuroko child and I assume, the child's bodyguard."

"Who has informed you of such details?" Akashi said.

Shirogane chuckled. "The president of NBHA, your father."

Akashi narrowed his eyes. "Who else knows about our mission?"

Shirogane answered, "Just your father, your mother, you kids, and I. It is an extremely confidential case."

Akashi nodded. "Part 1's goal: Find Ogiwara Shigehiro. Part 2 must be related to finding this mystery child's whereabouts, isn't it?"

Shirogane nodded. "Splendid job. That's what I expected from the captain of the Generation of Miracles."

...

"Alright, boys!" Riko shouted, stomping her feet. She slammed her hand on the desk. Hyuga shut his mouth and straightened his slumping form. Riko smirked. "We will leave Seirin District tonight. Meet at my house 7 p.m. _sharp._ Now that that's out of the way, I want to go over this mission."

"Again?" Kagami asked, bored already.

"Bakagami!" Riko yelled. She hadn't dealt with newbies in such a long time. "Let me tell you something, BAKA!"

Kagami nodded, looking unfazed. Riko smiled sweetly as she walked over to him and suddenly, Kagami found himself in a headlock by his very own coach. "Congrats on becoming a bounty hunter, Bakagami; _but_, your happy parade ends here. You thought you reached the top of this mountain, didn't ya?" Riko shook her head, smiling evilly. "That's too bad because whether you like it or not, you are actually at the bottom of this food chain."

"HAH?"

Riko nodded, pleased with his reaction, and let go of him. "Yep. That was my- or should I say, _our_- reaction too. All that hard work to become a bounty hunter and now you gotta start at the bottom again? It's an endless cycle, Bakagami. So, when I tell ya to listen up, _you better._"

Kagami loosened the collar of his T-shirt and nodded, still looking disgruntled.

"I'll explain this to you newbies so you don't go flailing half way through the mission on us. Once you become a bounty hunter, you start at the bottom of the hunter pyramid. After all, you are the newbies so you gotta make yourself known in this field before you can climb up the ladder."

Riko walked to the whiteboard in the front. She drew a pyramid and tapped the marker on the board. "Welcome to the Bounty Hunter industry, newbies. You took the exam, passed and now you are bounty hunters. Great. You found a BHE- even better for you. Unfortunately, you are on the bottom of this pyramid."

She noticed one of the newbies make a confused face and said, "Go on. Ask your question." She waited for the person to spill the beans. "_I said_ ask your question, newbie."

"H-hai!" the newbie said, looking very timid. "W-what's a BHE?"

Riko sighed. _Did they forget everything they learned? _"Bounty Hunter Employer. In able to work in this field, you have to have an employer, don't ya? Every single hunter in this room is currently employed by the Seirin Hunter Company."

"Yeah. That's old news, let's get movin' on," Kagami muttered, waving his hand.

"Be quiet, Bakagami. Some people still need to get schooled," Riko remarked. "Being signed onto a Hunter company guarantees you protection. If you ever get severely injured, they will help you with medical expenses as well as making sure that you're tended to. You could say they're like life insurance. If another bounty hunter decides to target you, well, your company can help you with that. However, I don't know why that would happen. Pop quiz: why is it weird if that did happen?"

Kawahara, a new hunter, answered, "Because it's against the law for a hunter to kill another hunter."

"Bingo," Riko said, grinning. "Here's another question: why do bounty hunters exist?"

"Ha! That's easy," Kagami said. "Hunters capture wanted people."

Riko pursed her lips, thinking. "That's a good point, Kagami. There's more to it though. Any other answers?"

Hyuga waited for one of the newbies to answer. He sighed and snapped, "Is this all you've got? As your captain, I am very disappointed! And to think, I warded away those news stations!"

Fukuda hesitantly suggested, "We keep order and peace in society?"

"That's an even better answer than Kagami's, Fukuda," Riko praised, smiling. "Fukuda's got the real answer, everyone. Bounty Hunters are here to help society and its problems. We focus on the negative and threatening aspects of society's problems, whether it's capturing a runaway criminal or cooperating with the military in order to get rid of a threat to society. Different hunters have different jobs, but at the end of the day, we are all working to create a safe and peaceful world."

"Well said, Riko," Kiyoshi complimented, grinning. That's the reason why he wanted her to become their coach. Sure, she had the proper experiences with training people to become better hunters. What's even more appealing is her sense of morals. She has a strong sense of justice and desire to keep civilians safe.

Riko waved him off and continued on. "Back to the lesson, kids."

"You're only a year older than us," Kagami mumbled. Riko arched a brow. "So? I'm a third year. You're a second year. That's the difference. Besides, rank-wise, I'm still higher than you."

"How is that!" Kagami replied. Shaking a finger with a smug smile, Riko simply answered, "It's easy. I've done more missions than you. While you were in school studying to become a hunter, I was probably already on missions with these guys. The Bounty Hunter Association ranks you based on the amount of successful missions you've completed." She pointed at the seniors.

Kagami, feeling belittled, retorted, "Ha! And last year, the Generation of Miracles- a bunch of first years- beat you all!"

Furihata covered his face with his hands. "Kagami, you shouldn't have said that. Riko's gonna beat you into a pulp!" Before the tall red-head could react, a large paper fan landed on his head multiple times. Izuki frowned, shaking his head, as he commented casually, "Kagami just got paper slapped."

"Say that again, huh?" Riko demanded. "I'll make sure to hit your face this time."

Kagami looked away and Riko sauntered back to the front again. "Speaking of the Generation of Miracles, they are rank one when it comes to the hunter groups. We, Seirin's only hunter group, are rank six. Not too bad, don't you think?"

"I guess," Kagami muttered. Kiyoshi smiled. "I think it's very good, seeing as to how we started at the bottom and now, we're at the top."

"Yeah, Bakagami. You do know that you're riding on our coattail?" Riko explained. "We've done most of the hard work. We just need five more ranks until we're number 1 and you better help us get there. I don't want to see you go solo on us, thinking you can do everything by yourself. We work together. We think and plan together. We are a team. "

"Yeah. Yeah. I know. Now what were you saying about me being ranked lower than you?"

Riko made a thinking face. "When it comes to _individual_ ranking, I rank higher than you just as the Generation of Miracles rank higher than all of us. That's partly because they've had more opportunity to get missions."

Kagami smirked. "And how is that? They're just as old as me."

Izuki nodded. "True. They are the same age as you, but they've been bounty hunters since middle school. You just barely became a hunter your second year of high school."

Hyuga laughed at the red-head's gaping face. "Don't look so pissed, Kagami. They also come from the top BHE: Teiko Hunter Company. When clients want to hire hunters, they go to the hunter association's headquarter in Teiko and file their mission as well as request their preferred hunters. That's how hunters get money; besides, it's not new to see people frequently requesting for the top notch hunters. But because they're at the top of the pyramid, that means they have the choice of accepting or denying missions."

Riko put a finger on her chin. "They are smart though, I'll say. Teiko is the capital of the magic world. It's also where the Bounty Hunter Association's headquarters are located. That's where missions are processed; they're strategically positioned in a good location whereas we are in the Seirin District, a good three hours away from Teiko District. That doesn't mean we're going to lose to the Generation of Miracles; we're just at a disadvantage."

... _7 p.m. at Riko's house..._

"Better take care of my daughter, got it?" Riko's dad asked. He was standing on the porch, the light from his house shining through the open door. Hyuga nodded, elbowing Kagami. _Why is he staring so much?_

Kagami replied, "But, Riko's got the strength of a gor-"

"Ah! Look at the time!" Hyuga said suddenly. "We got to get moving! Thank you very much, sir!"

Kiyoshi pushed Kagami away from the house with Hyuga leading the way out. Riko laughed as her father blanched, stuttering, "W-what was he gonna say, Riko? He was calling you a brute! Let me teach him a good lesson!"

Riko shoved her hand in his face. "Dad, I gotta go now. Go back inside the house."

"Why~! Stay with me, Riko. You're always going to be my little girl!" he cried out. Izuki looked behind to see Riko shoving her dad back into the house and shook his head. Those two had such a weird relationship.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading, favoriting, following, and reviewing. Love y'all :)

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